THE CHIEF Officer of Warwickshire Police Special Constabulary has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s New Year Honours.
Katherine Hancock has served in the Special Constabulary for 27 years, becoming the Specials Chief Officer in 2019.
A key member of the force’s Local Policing command team, Katherine has worked on everything from serious investigations to incident response to problem solving within local neighbourhoods.
Always proactive in ensuring the Special Constabulary play a key part in daily policing within Warwickshire, Katherine has been pivotal in co-ordinating Specials policing of the night time economy and work with the force’s roads policing teams, including carrying out activity to support national speed enforcement and seat belt campaigns.
Some highlights from Katherine’s time in her frontline voluntary policing role include coordinating support for The Ryder Cup, Warwickshire’s ‘Global Gathering’ festival, the Queen’s visit to Stratford, and the Olympic Torch relay. Katherine has received two Chief Constable Commendations for this work.
The pinnacle of Katherine’s career to date was spearheading a campaign to raise £6,000 to secure a memorial stone for Special Constables at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
In addition to her voluntary time with Warwickshire Police – where she has worked over 1,000 hours in the past year – Katherine is also an adult leader with Girlguiding UK.
She said: “I am shocked, surprised and extremely happy to be awarded an MBE. I am very proud to have been a part of the Warwickshire Police family for the past 27 years and continue to love every opportunity this brings to help others.
“I am extremely privileged to lead the 91 Specials we have, who in 2020 have dedicated tens of thousands of hours of their time to help protect people in our county.
“When I joined the Specials in 1993 I wanted to give something back to my community, and I look forward to continuing to do this in both my Specials role and within Girlguiding for many years to come.”
Warwickshire Police Ch Cons Martin Jelley said: “I am delighted that Katharine’s enormous contribution as a volunteer to policing in Warwickshire has been recognised with this award.
“Katharine has been a Special Constable for 27 years and her long term commitment to this and her work with Girlguiding UK shows she is truly deserving of this honour.
“The Special Constabulary is an essential part of modern policing and the work which Katherine and her specials colleagues do is invaluable.”
Arrangements for Katherine to collect her MBE have not yet been confirmed.
